Broken
by labellebeaucoup
Summary: Karen, on a downward spiral, gets sent to live with her father and his new wife. Can she face the pressures of dealing with her parents' divorce, her father's new marriage, and being the daughter of the president?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – I originally wrote this story as a Twific, but couldn't shake the nagging voice in my head telling me that it would make a much better Scandal story. After struggling through 3 chapters, I decided to take down the Twilight version of this story and begin anew as an Olitz fic. **

**This is completely AU. Fitz and Mellie are divorced and Olivia is the First Lady. To give a little background – it will come out in the story too, Fitz and Mellie divorced while he was still a governor and they never had Jerry or Teddy. This story revolves a lot around Karen with plenty of Olitz thrown in the mix. – G.**

* * *

_Broken_

_Chapter One:_

_All Alone_

_**Prologue:**_

"Alright Karen," A stocky, dark-haired boy shouted from the circle that had gathered around the short, brown haired girl chugging shot after shot of tequila. The boys and girls were smacking their hands together, creating loud noises of applause as the tiny girl in front of them downed the clear liquid in the glasses.

"Karen! Karen! Karen!" Someone started in the back, complete with fist pumping. The noise in the dirty living room littered with beer cans, empty bottles of liquor, and bags of marijuana; continued to grow. No one noticed that the small brunette's pupils were growing larger by the minute. No one noticed that her breathing had slowed until it was barely a gasp every ten seconds. And no one noticed that her skin was slowly losing its color; turning a ghastly pale blue.

The occupants in the room jumped at the sound of a loud crash. They looked at the table, finding it turned on its side and the shot glasses lying on the wooden floor in hundreds of tiny pieces. Amongst the glass, Karen Grant lay face down, her hand bleeding from the impact with a shard of crystal.

A group of guys rushed forward, some shouting for an ambulance to be called while others rolled Karen onto her back. Her eyes were tightly closed, her breathing shallow. They tried shaking her, saying her name. Despite their efforts, she still would not open her eyes.

"Karen," One of the girls shouted, putting her hands on the unconscious teenager's shoulders and shaking. There was still no response.

Sirens were heard outside the home as the group continued taking turns attempting to wake their friend. Paramedics in blue uniforms rushed in, shoving the stunned group out of their way. They knelt beside Karen, working to place an oxygen mask over her face. Her breathing had only begun to grow shallower.

One of the paramedics, a tall, red-headed man, lifted Karen and placed on her the blue gurney they had brought with them. The second paramedic, a petite blonde, wrapped a white blanket around Karen's body before helping the man strap her in. They quickly rolled the gurney to the ambulance and began the short journey to Dell Children's Medical Center.

At the hospital, Karen was rushed to a room where a doctor and nurses quickly worked on a tracheostomy before performing the necessary operation of pumping her stomach. After they had managed to regulate her breathing and blood alcohol levels, the nurses began looking for contact information.

Going through Karen's jacket, the nurses finally found her cellphone. They went through the call log, hitting the one that simply said 'mom'. It wasn't long before a frantic Melody Grant answered on the other line.

"Karen, where **are **you?" Her voice was high, frantic as it came through the phone speaker.

"Is this Karen Grant's mother?" The nurse asked, politely.

"Oh dear," Mellie groaned, her voice shaking, "Who is this?"

"Mrs. Grant…" The nurse began.

"Ms. Grant."

"My apologies, Ms. Grant," The nurse tried again, tightening her hold on the phone. She didn't like to deliver this kind of news to a parent especially such a high profile parent. "Karen is currently at Dell. She was brought here for alcohol poisoning and we have been treating her since one this morning."

"Is she okay? Why am I just _now_ getting this call?" Mellie demanded, her voice raising another octave.

"Ms. Grant, as I said, your daughter had alcohol poisoning and we were not able to locate contact information before now," The nurse explained, keeping her voice soft and even. She had two teenage daughters of her own and could imagine how she would react to this kind of information. It would be heartbreaking for any mother.

"I'm on my way." With that, Mellie slammed her phone shut and jumped out of bed, waking her fiancé of one year, Andrew Nichols.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Andrew asked, sitting up in bed and watching as his fiancée was pulling blue jeans and a t-shirt from the closet.

"Karen's in the hospital." The response was tense as she yanked her jeans over her hips, quickly buttoning and zipping them.

"Why?" Andrew questioned more, getting out of bed himself and beginning to pull clothes on. Though she wasn't his daughter, Andrew cared for Karen because of her affiliation to Mellie.

"Alcohol poisoning." She continued to pull her clothes on, stopping to find a pair of slip-on shoes she could wear. Andrew dressed as quickly as she had, dropping the rest of his questions for her sake. She appeared to be on the verge of a breakdown.

Andrew grabbed his keys from the peg by the door and ushered Mellie out. He helped her into the car – she was shaking too hard to be able to climb in by herself. She sat in silence on the way to the hospital, unwilling to carry on any conversation that Andrew attempted to start.

She rested her head against the cool glass, watching the city pass by in a blur. She felt numb. What had she done to her daughter that would force her to act out this way? What had _they _done?

Her thoughts turned to her ex-husband. They had divorced seven years ago, when Karen was nine. It felt like a relief to her and Fitz once they had signed those papers. There had been nothing but fighting amongst the two for several years. It was painful for both of them and they agreed it couldn't have been good for Karen.

Fitz had remarried a year ago. If Karen was unhappy when Mellie started dating Andrew, she was irate when Fitz remarried. He had invited his only child to his wedding only to have her hang up the phone, tear the invitation, and slam her bedroom door in her mother's face. She still had not warmed to the idea of her father's new wife; hadn't even met her.

"Mellie!" Slowly she blinked her eyes, snapping out of her thoughts and staring blankly at her husband. He stood before her, waving a hand in front of her face as he tried coaxing her out of the vehicle. She shook her head, trying to clear the fog from her brain, and placed her hand in his – allowing him to lead her to the ER entrance.

They found Karen, paler than normal, sleeping in a tiny bed near the back of the long hospital wing they had been directed to. Mellie felt her legs wobble and Andrew reached out to wrap an arm around her waist, preventing her from collapsing to the floor. Tears began streaming down her face as she took in the still form of her only child.

* * *

"_Who calls someone at three in the morning?" _That thought resonated through Fitzgerald Grant's groggy, sleep laden brain as he tossed the covers from his body and stalked, angrily, toward the phone that sat on the oak dress. It was his own personal line – not a call from any agency.

"Hello?" His tone wasn't kind. He snuck a look at Olivia, his wife of a little over a year. She was still sleeping peacefully, her hair spread out over the pillow and her hand on her not so flat abdomen. They had found out they were expecting a little over three months ago.

"Fitz?" That voice gave him pause. He wasn't expecting to hear his ex-wife and he sure wasn't expecting to hear her voice at three in the morning. His thoughts instantly went to his daughter. What had happened to Karen?

"Mellie? Where's Karen? What's wrong?" Fitz fired the questions off a mile a minute.

"Oh Fitz," Mellie sniffled, on the verge of tears, "Karen is in the hospital…alcohol…poisoning."

"Calm down. You aren't making any sense. What happened?" He tried again, hoping that he would get a more accurate answer this time and not the jumbled mess he had just received.

"She was at a party with her friends…I told her she could go…I gave her permission." More rambling, although this time it seemed to have some direction. Fitz sighed, took one final look at his sleeping wife, and carried the phone out of the bedroom. He padded across the carpeted floor, heading toward the balcony.

The night air was cool against his bare chest and the smell of rain was heavy. It had rained for the last few days – luckily the drizzle had died down for the moment.

"What happened at the party?" Fitz probed, knowing that that had to have something to do with Karen's condition.

"She obviously drank too much if she's been hospitalized for alcohol poisoning," Mellie snapped, still sniffling.

"How is she now?" He had to know. He hadn't been the best father recently. He had been conspicuously absent for the last seven years. He only saw his daughter on occasion and most of the time; she tried her best to get away from him.

"She's fine _now_. I…I wanted to ask you for a favor." Fitz furrowed his eyebrows. His daughter was in the hospital, possibly could have _died_, and she was asking for a favor? He sighed and reminded himself to hear her out before he started yelling.

"What?"

"I don't like the idea of Karen being around her so called friends anymore. She needs away from them. Away from this city. It obviously isn't doing her any favors," Mellie started.

"What are you asking?" Dare he hope that she was asking what he thought? That she wanted him to take Karen in? A smile spread across his face at the thought of having his only, soon to be oldest, child stay with him.

But he would have to ask Olivia first. He didn't expect her to say no, but he never knew.

"You want Karen to stay with me?"

"Can she?"

"We would love to have her. Of course, I have to ask Olivia first."

"Oh," She sounded disappointed. She had hoped that he would agree right away and take her mind off what had happened. Different scenarios of future incidents ran through her head if she allowed Karen to stay in Austin. She couldn't do it.

"I'll call back in the morning." With that, he hung up the phone and reentered the house. He made his way back to his room – a large smile on his face and the determination to speak to Olivia in the morning about Karen's possible relocation.


	2. Chapter 2

**It has been months since I have updated and I apologize for that. It isn****'****t fair for me to leave you guys so unexpectedly and for such a long period of time. I know that I do not share much personal information with any of you, and for the most part I believe that is how it should be - just an author sharing her stories, but I will share some in hopes of somewhat redeeming myself for my long absence. I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder II over a year ago and have spent the past months in a major depressive state - in fact I was originally misdiagnosed with depression, a common thing to occur with this disorder. I haven****'****t been absent because I **_**wanted **_**to be absent - I have been absent because no matter how hard I tried, I could not manage the will to write or do much of anything. I was barely managing getting out of bed, on my best days, and eating, on my worst days. I have started a new medication which I am hoping curtails any future episodes and I want to extend an offer to any of my readers, or anyone who has passed by my stories, to send me a private message, friend me on facebook, or tweet me/dm me if you ever feel that way and need someone to talk to. To be blunt, depression really sucks. **

**Lastly, I did not share that story to gain any sympathy and I do not wish for it. I only wanted all of you to know that I did not forget about you nor did I abandon you. If you are still reading after my long, long absence, thank you. Beaucoup d****'****amour. - Gabrielle**

* * *

_Broken_

_Chapter Two:_

_The Sound of Madness_

"Karen, it's so good to finally see you." Olivia's voice hinted at every bit the cheerful, inviting First Lady that she had come to be known as.

"It hasn't been long enough," Karen sneered, crossing her arms over her chest and staring her stepmother down from across the room - glaring at her outstretched arms and daring Olivia to wrap them around her. Olivia's eyes widened in surprise as she slowly lowered her arms, unsure of where to go from there. Slowly, rubbing her hand up and down her arm, Olivia watched the doorway for Fitz's entrance.

"How was your flight, sweetie?" Fitz demanded as he entered the living room, wrapping an arm around his only daughter.

"Boring and it went in the wrong direction." Karen shrugged his arm away, bending to grab her guitar case from the ground and hold it as a determent to any further displays of affection.

Fitz raised an eyebrow in Olivia's direction as if to say, _"__How do you respond to __**that**__?__"_. Olivia gave a small shrug, moving toward the two and bending ever so slightly to lift one of the smaller carry-ons. Fitz was quick to swat her hand away.

"Not in your condition," he tsked, grabbing the bag and swinging it easily in his hand.

"Fitzgerald Grant, we agreed not to make such a big deal out of my _condition_ as you so eloquently put it."

"The doctor said no heavy lifting."

Karen watched as the two adults in her life argued over such a mundane task as who was going to carry her luggage. She rolled her eyes and cleared her throat, loud enough for the two before her to turn their attention from their argument.

"What room am I staying in?"

"Olivia can show you, I will carry your luggage." Fitz made a point of looking at his wife as he made his statement, chuckling when she rolled her eyes at him before beckoning Karen to follow her down a hallway. He wasn't far behind the two, despite the carry-on and multiple suitcases he was carrying. He and Olivia had decided to put Karen in the room across from the nursery - two doors down from their bedroom. She had refused to visit the White House, let alone pick out a bedroom of her own, after her father had won the election a little less than a year ago. A bedroom in muted beige would have to do for now.

"This was the best you could do? It's like you don't even know me, dad." Karen glanced around the room, not bothering to hide the look of disgust from her face - she _wanted _them to know that she wasn't pleased with her surroundings.

"You can decorate however you wish, Karen." Olivia's peace offering did little to lift Karen's mood as she plopped her guitar case on the soft mattress.

"What am I supposed to do about school?" She was grasping for any excuse to avoid living with her father that she could.

"We have a little over a month to figure that out. You can either go to a school, of my choice, here in DC or you can be homeschooled - Olivia has already offered to oversee that and it will give her something to do when the baby arrives."

"What are you having?" It was the first time that Karen had seemed to take some interest in their lives instead of her own.

"She's a girl," Olivia answered, her hand quickly finding her abdomen and rubbing her rounded bump.

Karen gave a curt nod, looking back at her bed and sighing. She really was stuck here. She could feel her phone vibrating in her front pocket and sighed - with any luck, it was someone to distract her from the living hell she had somehow found herself in.

"Can I be left alone for a bit? To settle in and maybe take a nap. I'm tired." She tried to sound inconspicuous - not wanting to alert her father or stepmother to the possibility of a phone call from her friends. Her mother had made it clear when she was leaving that she wasn't supposed to have any contact with anyone from home except for her or Andrew, not that she ever would call Andrew for anything. She liked him only slightly more than she liked Olivia.

"Sure," Fitz conceited, nodding toward Olivia and following her from the room.

* * *

"She doesn't like me," Olivia observed as she and Fitz once more stood in the family living room. She was straightening the red tie that he had chosen that morning - it had become rumpled as he was carrying Karen's suitcases to her room.

"She never has gotten over mine and Mellie's divorce. She'll come around."

"When will that be?" She lowered her hands from his tie, crossing her arms in the infamous 'power' stance that others had come to associate with the formidable, former Miss Pope when she was still practicing law.

"Don't give me that 'lawyer' stance, Livvie. She'll be fine - she just needs time. She doesn't really remember mine and Mellie's relationship. In her mind, it was something that it never was. She doesn't remember how volatile it was." He smiled at her, gently tugging at her arms until she finally allowed him to pull them free.

"You're right," she consented, wrapping her arms around his waist and allowing him to hold her close, breathing in the scent of her hair.

"I'm always right," he laughed when she swatted at him, nuzzling her head against his chest. He placed a finger under chin, tugging gently so she would look at him. "Don't worry, Liv. Everything will work out."

She nodded, standing slightly on the top of her toes to give him a quick peck on the lips before releasing him. "Go back to work, Mr. President."

"Watch after my daughter, Mrs. President." He winked, smacking her behind before briskly walking from the room, leaving behind a grinning Olivia.

* * *

"Thomas," Karen breathed into her phone, finally silencing the never ending buzzing that had been going on since she shooed her father from her bedroom.

"Karen! Where are you?" The relief was palpable in the young man's voice.

"I'm at my dad's."

"What? When did that happen?"

"My mom wasn't too happy with what happened. She sent me here away from my horrible, horrible friends."

"Now that's just harsh."

"She's a bitch."

"So I've heard. Was she too afraid you would make her look bad?"

"More like I had the misfortune of pulling this terrible stunt during an election year."

"If it makes you feel any better, everyone thinks you had some kind of allergic reaction to your medication - nothing about getting drunk."

"That doesn't really make me feel better, but thanks anyway."

Karen plopped back on her bed, hating that she enjoyed the softness of the mattress beneath her back. She flung the hairband from her hair, allowing her brown tresses to pillow around her and relieving the tension of her ponytail. She began picking at the small fray on the beige bedspread, hating the color. Part of her wondered if her father had put her in the room as some form of punishment. It was all so…_girly_.

"I could always come and get you."

"Good luck getting past security."

"Why does your dad have to be the president?"

"That's normally what happens when you run a campaign for president and win."

"That's not what I meant."

"I know."

The two sat in silence, neither knowing what to say, but not willing to end their conversation either. Thomas never was willing to end a conversation with Karen - he was always willing to sit and hold the phone for hours on no end. Karen knew that she might not get many more opportunities to talk to him while she was away and was unwilling to hang up for that reason. The two had been dating for the past year - beginning when she was fourteen and he had just turned eighteen. Her mother had never been too happy with the relationship, but was willing to turn a blind eye on the two.

"I wish I could see you." Thomas finally broke the silence.

Karen sighed. "That's not likely to happen any time soon. I'm not even supposed to be talking to you."

"This really sucks."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"I love you."

"I know that."

"Making sure."

Silence filled the line once more as the two brooded over their unfair situation. Karen looked longingly at her guitar case, laying her phone on the bed before scooting forward to unzip the black case. She lightly ran her finger over the smooth, wooden instrument before wrapping her hand around the neck and gripping the side of the body with her other as she pulled it from her case. Her father had bought her the guitar for a Christmas present one year and she had put it to good use ever since - music was the only thing she showed any passion for.

"What are you doing?" Thomas could faintly be heard in the background through the speaker of the phone, but she failed to respond. Playing a few chords, she suddenly broke out into song:

"_I created the sound of madness._

_Wrote the book on pain._

_Somehow I__'__m still here,_

_To explain,_

_That the darkest hour never comes in the night._

_You can sleep with a gun._

_When you gonna wake up and fight__…__for yourself?__"_

"I think I'm going to miss that the most," Thomas commented as the music faded - she already felt the tears making a cool trail down her warm cheeks and knew she couldn't continue.

"I'm sure I'll be sending you plenty of sample songs. It isn't like I have much of anything else to do here." She tried smiling through the tears, but the smile didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Hey, don't cry. I'll try to visit you. I promise."

"Thanks, Thomas." Her whisper was barely audible as she ended her call. Rolling onto her back and staring up at the pristine white ceiling, she allowed her tears to fall.

* * *

"Karen, honey, dinner is ready." The unfamiliar voice cut through her dreams accompanied by a soft knock on the door. Blinking her eyes open, she looked around the darkened room - taking a moment or two for her memories to return. In her dream state, she was happily at home.

"I'm not hungry," she called out, sitting up, allowing the comforter to fall to her waist as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Your father says you have to eat." Olivia sounded stern and Karen found herself rolling her eyes. She wasn't sure about Olivia and part of her wanted to keep it that way. She already had a mother, an aloof, not very good one, but a mother after all.

"I'll be out in a minute." She groaned in frustration, throwing the comforter from her body and swinging her legs from the bed. She made a split second decision to change from the outfit she had slept in and into a pair of black shorts and a Shinedown shirt - her father would be annoyed. Throwing her hair into a messy bun and making sure her phone was charging, she left the room and headed toward what she assumed to be the dining room - she smelled food and heard laughter from that direction at least.

"You could have warned me that your husband is this difficult to work for!" A tall, skinny redhead was laughing with Olivia as Karen made her way into the family kitchen.

"Do you two see eye to eye on anything?" Olivia was removing a pan from the stove. Karen got a glimpse of what was in the pan and grimaced - scallops.

"You did warn me about working for a conservative president." The woman nodded behind Olivia toward Karen as she finished her sentence.

"Nice of you to finally join us," Olivia noted as she worked, "Karen, this is Abby. She's your father's Press Secretary."

"Hi Karen." Abby sounded to upbeat to her, but she forced a smile anyway.

Karen nodded, glancing to the doorway when she heard footsteps behind her. Fitz came into the kitchen, shrugging out of his suit jacket and loosening his tie. Karen narrowed her eyes at the two as he gently kissed Olivia before moving to the refrigerator.

"I'll carry the wine," he offered as Olivia and Abby began carrying food bowls toward the table in the other room.

"Make sure you grab _both_ bottles," Olivia called over her shoulder.

"She drinks?" Karen raised her upper lip in disgust.

"Hers is nonalcoholic. You can have some too if you would like. Grab the glasses." Fitz nodded toward the wine glasses that were sitting on the countertop and waited as Karen grabbed them - following him to the dining table.

"What exactly is that?" Karen asked, pointing at the bowl of scallops in the middle of the table as she sat down.

"Coquilles Saint-Jacques." She was slightly impressed by Olivia's accent. Karen had started taking French this past year in high school and thought Olivia's accent was better than her teacher's had been.

"What does that mean?"

"St. James' shells, literally. They're scallops cooked in wine sauce. You'll like them."

Dinner passed in relative silence for the group, the grownups laughed and joked, but Karen sat to herself. She picked at her plate - she thought the food was quite good, but didn't want to let her father and stepmother know that. After dinner was finished and Abby had left, Fitz asked Karen to help Olivia clear the table. The two were currently standing side by side as they washed dishes.

"How do you like it here?" Olivia's question caught Karen off guard, but she was quick with her retort.

"I hate it."

"It isn't that bad once you get used to it."

"I'm not sure I ever want to get used to this."

"You will."

"No I won't. Why would I get used to any of this? In another three to seven years, my father won't be here and who knows how long you will be here."

Olivia's grip tightened on the plate in her hand and she slowly turned to look at her stepdaughter. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means he doesn't stay. He leaves instead of working things out when it gets too hard. In a way, I feel bad for your daughter. He'll push her aside like he did me."

"Is that really how you feel?"

"Don't worry about it." Karen allowed the plate in her hand to fall back into the soapy dishwater before wiping her hands on a towel and storming from the room. Olivia stood there staring after her, cringing when she heard the bedroom door slam shut. Moments later, Fitz appeared at her side.

"What happened?" He asked, rolling his sleeves up his arms and putting his hands in the soapy water, finding the remaining plates and washing them.

"She's so hurt that you and Mellie divorced. She thinks you abandoned her, Fitz."

"I'll talk to her tomorrow - she wasn't in a talking mood. She said she was going to bed."

Olivia nodded, taking the plate from her husband's hand and rinsing it with lukewarm water before placing it in the drainer to her right.

"We have our hands full," Fitz commented, glancing sideways at his wife.

"We'll make it."


	3. Chapter 3

_Broken_

_Chapter Three:_

_Because of You_

"Fitz, talk to her," Olivia implored her husband, awkwardly collapsing into the red and white pinstriped sofa.

"I will, but I can't right now. The prime minister…"

"Fitzgerald Thomas Grant!" Olivia crossed her arms, giving the most intimidating stance a woman could give when six months pregnant. "The prime minister can wait. Your daughter is on the verge of a breakdown because she thinks you don't care."

Sighing, Fitz turned in his chair, looking at his wife as he loosened the too tight knot of his blue tie. Glancing between the black phone and Olivia, he finally stood and slowly walked toward the woman on the sofa.

"You are a pain in my ass," he grinned, placing a hand on either side of her head as he leaned forward to place a chaste kiss on her lips.

_Ring. Ring. Ring._

The shrill noise of the phone broke the two apart. Olivia glared at the small, black box as her husband began walking toward it. So much for getting him to speak to Karen.

"Karen, we need to talk." Fitz leaned against the doorframe leading into the young girl's bedroom. Karen, for her part, chose to keep her back turned to the door and her nose buried in a magazine. Fitz sighed, shoving the door open farther and taking a step into the room. He glanced around taking in the changes Karen had made in the past two weeks. Clothes were strewn across the floor, half-empty water bottles mixed in, the closet door stood half-open with more clothes thrown inside, a guitar leaned against the window seat, and photographs hung on the mirror, nearly covering the whole thing. Moving closer and looking at the photographs, Fitz noticed that of all the smiling, happy moments Karen had captured with friends, not a single photograph contained his ex-wife.

"Unless you're hear to talk about finally letting me decorate in here, I have nothing to say."

"Are you planning on cleaning up in here anytime soon?" Fitz's retort had a frown covering Karen's face as she whirled around to look at him, causing him to elaborate, "I'm not inviting anyone in this room to decorate for you while it's in this shape."

"I can do it myself."

"No, because doing it yourself would mean painting everything black and that is not happening."

"You said I could decorate my room the way I want it."

"As long as you don't make it the most depressing room in the house."

"You're _just _like mom."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"She won't let me make my own choices, either. It's always 'you have to do this or that' 'you can't do that even if you want, because it will make me look bad'," Karen nearly shouted, her face turning red as her eyes brimmed with tears. Fitz neared the edge of her bed as she fell forward, burying her face in the dull pillow.

"I didn't mean that you can't make your own choices, but Karen, I can't allow you to continue making these choices that are only negatively impacting you."

"Because something is wrong with me, right? That's why you left."

"I didn't leave because of you," Fitz began, gently sitting on the corner of the bed, sinking into the soft mattress, "Your mother and I had problems. None of them involved you."

"Whatever."

"If you want to decorate your room, you're more than welcome to pick out some things with Olivia's help." Fitz stood, feeling as if he were barking up the wrong tree with his daughter and making a mental note to call a therapist come Monday. Maybe they would be able to squeeze in one session before she started school.

"I don't _want _Olivia's help. Will you just go?"

"Be dressed by five. We're having dinner with Speaker James." With that said, Fitz headed out of the room. After hearing her door shut, tentatively lifted her head from her pillow, tears streaking down her face. She quickly swiped at them as her phone began ringing. Accepting the FaceTime call, she rubbed at her eyes, hoping they would look less swollen before turning the phone toward her.

"It's about time you ans- Karen what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Just a stupid argument with my dad. How's everyone?"

She heard chucking as the picture switched from the dark haired, sinewy boy to a group of teenagers. A short, blonde girl sat beside a dark-faced boy, a smoking joint resting in the glass ashtray on the table before them. Another boy, his long red hair flopping in his eyes, stood to the side, pressing vigorously on a controller. Karen smiled to herself: Mica, Leo, and Tyler looked like they were having a good time.

"They look good."

"I can't teach them any better." The picture once more flipped to the grinning boy Karen was speaking with.

"I miss you, Thomas."

"That's what you keep telling me," Thomas winked, "Your dad can't be that bad. Maybe he'd let me visit?"

"No way. He's mad at me because I won't decorate my room with my stepmom."

"Why not decorate it with her?"

"Why would I?"

"She hasn't been mean to you, Karen. Give her a chance. For me?"

"Fitz, wha –" Olivia began, rounding the corner of the hallway and seeing her husband standing outside Karen's slightly ajar door, his ear pressed to the crevice.

"Sh!"

Narrowing her eyes, Olivia moved closer, standing just behind Fitz and straining to hear what he was hearing. It was obvious that Karen was on the phone with someone – a boy, from the sounds of it.

"Fine. For you," Karen said, an annoyed sigh leaving her lips. Olivia shook her head, unable to follow Karen's conversation. Yanking on Fitz's arm, she finally managed to get him to follow her away from his daughter's door and down the hall, around the corner.

"Did you talk to her?"

"Yes."

"Why were you standing outside her door?"

"Our talk didn't go so well…"

"Why eavesdrop? Fitz, you have to give her _some _trust."

"I wanted to know who she was talking to – sounded like a friend. You know what Mellie said about Karen's friends." Olivia chuckled at the near pout that crossed Fitz's face as he crossed his arms. Placing her hand on his bicep, Olivia squeezed.

"Sounded more like a boyfriend. If you're so worried about her friends, invite them here. Get to know them."

"No! I won't have some hooligans running around the White House." Grunting, Olivia removed her hand from Fitz's arm and crossed hers over her chest.

"At least think about inviting this boy here. She sounds like she cares for him."

Relaxing his facial muscles, Fitz looked down at Olivia, grabbing her hand and intertwining his fingers with hers, "Alright."

"Did you tell her about dinner?"

"Yes."

"At least something went right."

"Don't be so quick to jump the gun – we'll say that _if _she shows up in something respectable and on time," Fitz laughed, bringing Olivia's hand to his lips.

"I hate my hair," Karen mumbled to herself, trying to get her straightened locks to stay in place. Giving up on that endeavor, and checking her makeup one last time, she stood in front of the floor length mirror, snapping a shot of her baby blue skirt and jacket. She waited patiently for a response to her text, smiling to herself when Thomas texted back with, 'you look great'. Taking a deep breath, she marched to her door, slinging it open and heading in the direction of the family dining room.

"You look nice," Olivia commented, startling Karen as she entered the dining room. Karen turned to find her stepmother in an off-white sweater dress.

"Thank you." Olivia's surprised look didn't last long before she was able to recover with a warm smile aimed at Karen. Fitz was less successful at covering his expression once he entered the room, turning a critical expression on his daughter.

"Is there something wrong with my outfit?" Karen asked, looking down at herself. The only thing she had thought her father might object to were her black Converse.

"No," Fitz answered, stumbling a little on his answer as he turned toward Olivia, "Can I talk to you?"

"Karen, would you like to head toward the front entrance and greet the Speaker? We'll be back in here by the time you get back."

Karen nodded, waiting until she was out of the room and half down the hall before allowing a sneer to cross her face – she didn't want to do anything for Olivia. Olivia and Fitz, on the other hand, had waited until Karen was out of earshot before speaking.

"What is she up to?" Fitz wondered aloud, giving his wife a worried look.

"She's a teenager – her mood changes on a dime," Olivia tsked, rubbing her bulging stomach as she headed toward a chair, sighing when she sat, reliving the tension on her legs. She would be happy when she finally had this child.

"She was too upset when I spoke to her, Liv. This isn't something that will just go away if I wait – it's not like she didn't get a new car or phone or whatever it is girls her age want. She thinks I abandoned her and her mother won't allow her to be herself."

"She probably wants to ask you a question and is playing nice so she has a better chance of you hearing her out."

"That just makes me feel so much better." Fitz rolled his eyes.

"Promise me that when she does ask you for whatever it is that she is going to ask for, that you _will _listen."

"I will."

"Thank you," Olivia smiled, moving to stand as the door to the dining room opened, grimacing at the feel of her too tight heels – her feet had recently started swelling.

"Mr. President." A stout, average-height elder man moved past Karen to greet Fitz.

"Henry," Fitz nodded, extended a hand to shake the Speaker's, "Have a seat."

"You look wonderful, Olivia," Henry noted, inclining his head toward the First Lady as she took the seat across from him.

"Thank you."

"And I must say, Fitz, your daughter is spectacular. She told me she's thinking of going to law school when she graduates?"

"She still has a few more years to decide," He stated, throwing a glance his daughter's way.

"Dad, can I ask you something?" Fitz finished undoing his tie before turning around to face his daughter, standing awkwardly at the threshold to his and Olivia's room.

"Sure," Fitz nodded, glancing at Olivia who was doing a good job at pretending to ignore the conversation, her eyes tracing the words in one of her many maternity books.

"I was wondering if I could invite a couple friends…"

"Karen, you're here to get away from those so-called friends."

"Not all of them are bad and there's actually on one I wanted to invite…he didn't have anything to do with what happened at that party. He wasn't even there," she was quick to add, noticing the disapproving look that crossed her father's face.

"Fitz, let her invite this _one _friend." Karen's attention turned to her stepmother and she suddenly felt a rush of relief for Olivia – for the moment she would play nice.

"Fine," Fitz agreed.

"Thank you, daddy." Karen rushed forward, giving her father a quick hug before she bounced out of the room, practically skipping toward her room. After closing her door, Karen flopped onto her bed and yanked her phone from her nightstand. Dialing Thomas's number, she waited patiently for him to answer, rolling onto her stomach and kicking her legs.

"Thomas, pick up." After a few more rings, the phone went to voicemail. Karen sighed and began to leave a message.

"I hope this isn't a mistake," Fitz bemoaned, yanking the blanket back on the bed and sliding in beside Olivia.

"We need to show her some trust, Fitz. Maybe she'll open up with us. She can't continue to be miserable here."

"Mellie said that her friends were to blame for…"

"Like Mellie has never lied to you before," Olivia rolled her eyes, "And those choices were as much Karen's as her friends. Wait until you meet her friend before you judge him."

"Him?" Fitz's eyes flashed with uncertainty, "She never mentioned a him."

"I will bet you that she is inviting the boy she was on the phone with," Olivia giggled.

"I'm not ready for this."

"It's practice for our little girl," Olivia laughed, rolling onto her side and snuggling back against Fitz. "Now can we please get some sleep?"

"Anything for you."


	4. Chapter 4

_**Broken**_

_**Chapter Four:**_

'_**73**_

"Does it have to be pink?" Karen questioned, looking over Olivia's shoulder at the open laptop screen.

"No, it doesn't have to be pink," Olivia smiled, "What do you like, Karen?"

A whimsical look crossed Karen's face at Olivia's question and she almost smiled. "No one has ever asked me that before."

Olivia smiled, feeling a lump forming in her throat, and had to cough before she could speak, "Well, I'm asking you now."

"I like music."

"We can work that into your room design."

"I like _rock _music."

"That's okay, Karen." She narrowed her eyes at her stepmother – was she _really _agreeing to something Karen wanted?

"What about a record wall?" Olivia suggested, turning to glance over her shoulder at Karen. She was standing there chewing her lip, a thoughtful expression on her face.

"A record wall?" She questioned, looking at the open webpage on Olivia's laptop. "That is cool!"

"I thought you might like it," Olivia giggled, bookmarking the page for later inspiration. "See – we _can _decorate your room the way you want it _and _adhere to your father's stipulations."

"My favorite color is forest green," Karen offered, yanking a chair from the table and pulling it to Olivia's side, plopping down in the soft-cushioned seat and placing her elbows on the desk as she leaned closer to look at Olivia's computer.

"We can work with that. Do you write your own music?" That question took Karen by surprise and had the young girl giving Olivia a quizzical look.

"We can incorporate that into your bedroom. Set up a corner just for you to create music," Olivia elaborated, smiling at her stepdaughter.

"We can do that?"

"I want you to flourish here, Karen and be yourself." Olivia kept her eyes on her computer screen as she made that statement, typing away on her keyboard as she waited for Karen's response. Karen sat there staring at her nails, a million thoughts running through her head and her feelings bouncing every which way at Olivia's admission. Part of Karen wanted to still hate her for taking her father from her and starting a new family with him, but the other, more logical part of Karen reminded her that Olivia was, in the few months she had known her, a better mother than her own had been.

"Thank you? I'm still learning, Olivia. This doesn't fix _everything _between us – that's going to take more time, but I'm trying."

"That's all your dad and I ask for, Karen." Olivia noticed the dark look that crossed Karen's face at the mention of her father and sighed. There was a lot of work to be done between Karen and Fitz and it didn't help that he stayed so busy all the time.

"So, I saw this really cool comforter for my bed," Karen cleared her throat, typing a website in and pulling up a picture of a comforter with various, large cassettes covered with 'mixtape' and 'demo'.

"I like it," Olivia smiled, moving the cursor to the 'add to cart' button. "Do you want to order it?"

"I can?" Karen squealed, a huge grin covering her face, "It'll be my first room item for here!"

Olivia smiled, patting Karen's hand before filling out the information to order her bedding. Once she had received her order confirmation, Olivia turned her laptop over to Karen – allowing the younger girl to continue searching for her bedroom decorations alone.

"Do you like living here?" Karen broke the silence moments later.

"I like living here with your father. I would rather not be _here_, but I support your father in any dream of his and his dream was to be president."

"You were a crisis manager before you met dad, right? You had your own firm and everything."

"I did." Olivia's look of surprise didn't go unnoticed by Karen.

"You were kind of a big deal to my history teacher back home. She made us write an essay on you and everything."

"That must have been awkward."

"I tried to really distance myself from all of this. Mom never came to any school events or parent-teacher conferences. Not many of my friends or teachers knew that my mom is Senator Mellie Grant or that my dad is the president. Mrs. Smith would have been unbearable, anyway, if she had known that _you're _my stepmother." Karen shrugged, scrolling through items on the computer, but Olivia saw the emotion in her eyes – the way her eyes watered as she had said that her mother never attended any school events.

"That would be horrible," Olivia giggled, watching as Karen laughed. Standing and stretching, relieving some of the tension in her lower back, Olivia glanced at her watch.

"Keep looking at things. Bookmark anything else you find. I'll be back," Olivia said, leaving her office and heading in the direction of Fitz's. Passing his secretary outside his office, Olivia offered a cheery smile before loudly knocking on the wooden door. She waited for Ftiz's answering yell before she entered the office. Fitz was standing at the window, a hand in his pants pocket as he looked out at the sunny afternoon.

"What are you up to?" Olivia questioned, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around him. He patted her hands with his, intertwining their fingers.

"Thinking," He answered absentmindedly, rubbing her the back of her hand.

"Do you have anything you need to finish?"

"Nothing that's too important."

"I think we should have a family night."

Tugging on her arms, Fitz got her to loosen her grip enough to allow him to turn and face her. Bending his head so that his forehead rested against hers, he said, "What did you have in mind?"

"Bowling, board games, a movie…it doesn't matter, Fitz. She _needs _to spend time with you."

"Okay."

* * *

"Really?" Karen exclaimed as her dad finished handing Olivia the cash for 'Boardwalk' – both blue properties now belonging to him. She shook her head as Fitz triumphantly placed the deed beside 'Park Place'. Fitz smirked.

"We can't let him win," Karen decided, reaching for the dice and quickly taking her turn.

"Try as you may, you can't stop me," Fitz winked, moving his hand under the table to link with Olivia's.

"I think we'll find a way," Olivia winked, waiting for Karen to make her move before taking her own turn.

"You say that, but I don't see either one of you doing anything about it," Fitz chuckled, handing out money to Olivia once it was his turn and placing properties on both 'Boardwalk' and 'Park Place'.

"That's so not fair," Karen huffed, taking the dice from her father and rolling. Moments later, she was exclaiming in exasperation as she landed on Fitz's property, promptly handing over all her money. In a matter of turns, Fitz had managed to take all of Karen and Olivia's money.

"What can I say? Monopoly is my game." Olivia shook her head, placing the lid on the box and watching as Karen took it from her hands, turning to put it back on the shelf.

"I think you have too much time on your hands," Karen accused, turning to face her father.

"That's an accusation I don't get very often."

"You obviously don't talk to mom very much, then."

"Karen…" Fitz began.

"Can we watch a movie?" Karen was quick to interrupt, but relief flooded Fitz's face. He would much rather watch a movie than speak to his daughter about her mother – no matter how much Olivia hounded him to do so.

"Sure."

* * *

"At some point, you're going to have to speak to her," Olivia stated, sitting at her vanity and brushing her hair.

"I know," Fitz groaned, running a hand down his face, "but I don't know _how _to bring it all up to her. Most of the time she either changes the subject or refuses to speak to me. You saw what happened tonight. She jumped for a movie the moment she had realized what she had said."

"_Because _she's afraid of how you're going to react to her bringing her mother up. Maybe you and Mellie need to…"

"No." The harsh tone of Fitz's voice had Olivia whirling around in her seat, her eyes narrowing in his direction, "Let's not bring Mellie into this unless we absolutely have to."

"She can't be that bad, Fitz." Olivia laid her hairbrush on the vanity, standing and moving toward the bed. Crawling onto the large king sized bed, she swung one leg over Fitz's waist until she was able to sit straddling him, not an easy feat considering the size of her stomach.

"She's worse," Fitz stated, moving his hands to Olivia's hips.

"Fitz…" Olivia warned, shaking her head at her husband.

"What?" Fitz questioned.

"You shouldn't speak like that about your child's mother – especially not in front of Karen. The two of you have issues you obviously need to work through," Olivia sighed, rolling off Fitz and settling into a comfortable position on her side.

"It's not as easy as that when it comes to Mellie," Fitz groaned, moving to his side and placing a hand on Olivia's stomach.

"Ow. She always kicks when you do that."

"She's excited that I'm here," Fitz winked.

"Um-hm," Olivia rolled her eyes, "Stop trying to change the subject."

"I didn't –" One glare from Olivia quickly had him changing his words, "Can we finish this in the morning? I'm tired."

"Fine."

* * *

"What are you wearing?" Karen demanded, laughing as Thomas walked up the front steps, shouldering an overnight bag.

"Mom thought I should be a little more dressed up than jeans and a shirt," he chuckled, fingering his blue tie, "Does it look that bad?"

"Everyone here seems so…"

"I know."

"Just promise not to turn out like that and I will deal with that _outfit_."

"That's good to know," Thomas laughed, quickly moving his hand away from Karen's once he noticed the look the Secret Service agent was giving him – in retrospect, reaching for hand had been a bad idea. "Let's just get this meeting with your dad over."


End file.
